The tag is the fastest way to estimate when a garment was made. At an estate sale you rarely have time to research every piece, so we check the same five clues in the same order every time. None of them is proof on its own, but together they usually narrow a piece to a decade.
1. Look for a care label
In the early 1970s the Federal Trade Commission began requiring washing and care instructions on clothing sold in the United States. If a garment has no care label at all and shows no sign that one was cut out, there is a good chance it was made before the early 1970s.
Check the side seam and the back of the neck label. Owners often cut care tags out because they itch, and a small stub of fabric in the seam tells you one used to be there.
2. Find the RN or WPL number
Most American-made clothing carries a registered identification number, printed as “RN” followed by digits. The Federal Trade Commission began issuing RN numbers in 1959. Before that, wool garments often carried a “WPL” number under the Wool Products Labeling Act instead.
- A WPL number points to roughly the 1940s or 1950s.
- A low RN number was issued to an older company, although companies keep their RN for decades, so it dates the brand more than the garment.
- You can look up any RN number in the FTC’s public database to see which company holds it.
3. Read the fiber content
The Textile Fiber Products Identification Act took effect in 1960 and required fiber content on labels. Very old pieces may list no fiber at all. Fabric names also help: early synthetic blends often use brand names such as Orlon, Dacron, or Ban-Lon, which were common from the 1950s through the 1970s.
4. Check where it was made
Through the 1970s and 1980s, most American brands still manufactured in the United States. Production moved overseas quickly during the 1990s. A “Made in USA” label on a mainstream brand suggests an older piece, while the same brand with a label from Bangladesh or Vietnam is usually more recent.
5. Look at the construction
- Single-stitch hems. On T-shirts, a single row of stitching on the sleeve and bottom hem was common until the mid-1990s. Double stitching took over after that.
- Zippers. Metal zippers from makers such as Talon are common on mid-century pieces. Many brands switched to plastic zippers from the late 1960s onward.
- Union labels. A small International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) label points to American manufacture before 1995, when that union merged into a new organization.
Quick reference
| Clue | Suggests |
|---|---|
| No care label, none cut out | Before the early 1970s |
| WPL number | Roughly 1940s to 1950s |
| No fiber content listed | Before 1960 |
| Single-stitch T-shirt hem | Before the mid-1990s |
| ILGWU union label | Before 1995 |
| Mainstream brand made in USA | Often 1990s or earlier |
Practice on real pieces
The easiest way to learn is to handle a lot of labels. Every piece in our Rare Finds edit includes the era we estimated, and the Depop listing shows the tag up close so you can check our work.
